God is Nice, and He Likes Me

I was a terrible student in secondary school. I'm not sure if it was my choice of course (I'd wanted to be a medical doctor, specifically, a paediatric surgeon) or my laziness or a combination of both. Bottom line, when I wrote my final exam, I failed in some subjects and just passed (the last pass grade before a fail) others. Technically, I qualified for entry into any university in Ghana by the entry requirements at the time, but getting in would be tough. Right now, with the revision of entry requirements into universities in Ghana, I don't qualify for entry into any university in Ghana with those grades.

I applied to the University of Ghana. As per advice I received, I chose one of the not so popular courses to guarantee my selection, and then I waited. The admissions list was out, admission letters were distributed, and nothing for me. I understood that when you get dumb grades like mine, you don't get to enter university, but I couldn't understand why I couldn't make it into the university with my mates.

I gave up waiting and enrolled into a remedial school to rewrite the WAEC papers I'd performed that bad in. I started classes, I hid it from just about everyone (it was mighty embarrassing), and then a letter came in the mail addressed to me. It was my admission letter. I doubt I have jumped that high or been that excited in my life.

Turns out I was on the late admissions list. I was one of the few who were admitted after the admission process had been completed. I later (not illegally) found a copy of the original admissions list for my department. Majority of the names had been typed, mine was one of 4 names which had been handwritten.

A remedial student made it into the university without rewriting the WAEC exam, and then went on to be a very good student, after which she went on to be an exceptional student in a Masters programme. So, when I say God is nice, and He likes me, I know what I'm talking about. How I even transitioned from that terrible student to a very good student to an exceptional student is testimony of just how much God likes me.

When One Door Closes...

...another one opens, but often times we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.

After my first degree, I was just glad to be done with school, and for me, "why would I go back and do more school?" And then I see an advertisement for an educational reality show, prize package includes a postgraduate scholarship in the UK. Suddenly, I'm thinking about a second degree, and I'm thinking I could do this (enter the competition and win). I enter, I do not win, I am crushed.

I'm wondering why I feel so crushed. I wasn't really interested in a second degree, but then, the programme I wanted to study in the UK is offered right here in Ghana, and since I couldn't afford school in the UK, I figured I might as well enroll into the same programme right here in Ghana. You see, taking part in the reality show, I'd psyched myself up to do my Master's and now that's all I wanted to do.

Turns out, getting into this programme in Ghana was even more difficult than getting to be a part of the reality show (and that one was worse than difficult). Well, I make it into the programme, and I emerge the overall best student. Yay! And as the best student, I'm offered a scholarship to study in Canada as part of the Master's programme. I could not believe it. I made it through the rigorous selection process, all I wanted was to do my 1 year Master's and be gone, but here I was, the best student. Instead of 1 year, I get to do 2 years. The second year is fully paid for, and although I didn't get to do school in the UK, I got to do school in Canada. Wow!

Imagine if when I'd got evicted from the reality show, I'd let my being devastated hold me back from doing all I could to upgrade myself? The UK door got closed, but the Canada door was opened for me. A door I hadn't anticipated being opened for me.
So I ask, what are you letting hold you back? Which closed door are you staring so hard at wishing it would open? Wishing so hard you can't see the other door that has been opened?